The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced today that India’s maiden Rs 400 crore moon mission, Chandrayaan-I, has been terminated. This has meant a premature end to the mission which lasted only 315 days. Isro had earlier said that it was expected to last over another year.
Isro announced that it had formally called off the mission after it failed to restore the communication link with the unmanned spacecraft. The Chandrayaan I mission was launched amid much national euphoria on October 22 last year. While announcing that the planned two-year lunar mission has been formally called off, Isro said it would set up a high level committee to probe the premature end to the mission.
The announcement by Isro was on expected lines after Chandrayaan-I project director M Annadurai had said on Saturday: “The mission is definitely over. We have lost contact with the spacecraft.”